Chicone: Reagan Is Dead Serious About Tax-reform Plan

June 23, 1985|By Dick Marlowe of the Sentinel Staff

Jerry Chicone, who calls himself ''a Central Florida citrus grower and nothing else,'' found himself in a unusual situation last Monday morning.

Seated at a hardwood table in the Rose Room of the White House, Chicone and about 10 other businessmen from around the country were being briefed by Linda Chavez on President Reagan's simplified tax plan.

Facing paintings of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman on the rose-tinted wall opposite his chair, Chicone took in the plain-English details of the new plan and pondered what questions he would ask of the president when he came into the room.

When the president did enter -- wearing a khaki suit and a brightly colored tie, Chicone said -- his attitude was friendly and lighthearted. Another member of the group who was wearing a similar suit said, ''Mr. President, your wardrobe taste is very good today.''

After a joking rebuttal, the president got down to the business of trying to convince the group that the tax proposal is a good thing for America.

Chicone came home from Washington with the impression that Reagan is dead serious about sticking to his guns and that he is not about to back off for every special interest group that wants to make a change.

Chicone's own question to the president is an example.

''I asked him,'' Chicone said, ''why he is cutting out the historic building tax credits -- since they have done such a good job in helping to rebuild downtown areas.''

The president's answer, Chicone said, was to the effect that examples of such real estate deals have been run through computers and that, given simplification of brackets and other modifications, any particular restoration still should be viable as a project to undertake.

One by one, he handled other complaints as well, Chicone said. When a representative of minority businesses suggested that the removal of industrial revenue bonds might be a bad idea, Chicone said, the president's rebuttal was that too many tax-free IRBs had been issued for purposes other than those intended -- and that the best solution was to close the loophole.

The work session was for representatives of several national associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Wholesalers Association.

Chicone got his chance to attend as a pinch hitter for John Sloan, president of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, who could not attend. Chicone is a director of that group.

Although he did not get exactly the answer he wanted on historic preservation, Chicone said of the meeting, ''I kind of got the impression that the president is dedicated to putting this thing together right down the middle'' rather than having special interests pick it apart. Trying to recall the president's exact words, Chicone said the gist of his plea was, ''We all might have special interests -- but the real issue is fairness.''

Chicone, who was highly complimentary of both Chavez and Deputy Treasury Secretary Richard Darman for their role in explaining the details of the tax- reform plan, may become one of the few people around town to have a president follow their advice.

After Chicone suggested that Chavez and Darman be sent on the road to explain the details of the tax plan in simple terms to the American public, the president replied, ''That's an excellent suggestion. . . . I'm going to do it.''

Chicone still doesn't know whether the tax plan will be enacted, but he came out of the session with a strengthened impression that Reagan is very much in charge and on top of the issues -- and ''a great example of a true believer in the private enterprise system.''